1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to functional clothing and more particularly to clothing or other articles with a pocket retaining a container opener, as well as a pocket forming application that can be fastened along any edge of a garment or bag or other item with a generally linear edge. The container can be opened with the opener remaining in the pocket. The pocket and the container opener preferably include advertising or other promotional indicia.
2. Description of Related Art
One common feature of bottles of liquid such as beer, soda or juice is a lid covering the opening of the bottle that requires removal for access to the liquid. Such metal lids or caps are sealed on to the bottle opening at the bottling facility by being placed and crimped by machines. Liquids that are carbonated create a pressure in the interior of the bottle with an increase in the temperature of the bottle and liquid within the bottle, so the lid must be firmly placed on the bottle top to maintain the seal. Removal of the lid from the bottle cannot be done by hand and requires a bottle opener to provide a mechanical means for prying the crimped metal lid from the bottle opening.
Conventional bottle openers have a ring or loop with handle to provide some mechanical advantage with a lever and fulcrum. The length of the handle increases the mechanical advantage of the opener. The bottom of the bottle is normally placed on a flat surface and the bottle opener engages the rim of the cap that is typically forced upwardly and off of the bottle with the pivoting of the opener. However, the bottle opener must be located from its place of storage for use when the opening of a bottle is desired. This search can be time consuming and may detract from other activities. Furthermore, the long handle and overall size of the conventional bottle opener makes it difficult and inconvenient to carry in a trouser or shirt pocket. The size and length of handle and opener head interfere with the normal movements of the leg at the hip. The size and weight of conventional openers also make them inconvenient to transport in the breast pocket of a shirt because the opener weighs down the shirt and falls out easily when the user is bending over. Because of the inconvenience and impracticality of the conventional bottle opener, most people do not carry an opener with them. Consequently, an opener must be located every time a bottle needs to be opened.
The inconvenience of locating and transporting an opener is one of the main reasons that some bottlers adopted “twist top” opening systems. In the twist top setting the crimped cap can be rotated and removed. However, the force that is needed to twist the cap off of the bottle is significant and can be painful. In addition, people with limited grip strength must still use a bottle opener to remove the twist top bottle cap.
Accordingly, there is a need for a bottle opener that is small in size, easily transportable, readily available to the user, easy to use and will not get lost indoors or outdoors. The present invention satisfies this need, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.